- Keith Gill is back to disclose huge position in GME shares.
- GameStop stock reaches above $40 in Monday premarket.
- GME stock closed on Friday at $23.14.
- US PCE report leaves market optimistic for lower inflation, more rate cuts.
GameStop (GME) stock soared 74% in Monday’s premarket after Keith Gill, aka Roaring Kitty, disclosed a large position in GameStop short-term, in-the-money call options. GME stock closed on Friday at $23.14 but is trading north of $40 at the time of writing.
Both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 futures are rising early Monday as traders consider a continuance with Friday’s mini-rally following the US Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) data.
"US equities staged a very late month-end comeback on Friday after trading lower much of the day as the personal spending data hinted at a weakening US consumer," wrote Deutsche Bank's Jim Reid in a client note. "Despite the weak personal spending data, the PCE inflation numbers helped raise the amount of rate cuts expected this year.”
GameStop stock news
News had percolated through various retail trading forums last week that an anonymous whale was buying a large position in GameStop stock. Then, on Sunday, Keith Gill let it be known that he was that whale.
Gill posted the following screenshot on the Reddit social media site’s r/Superstonk channel under his DeepFuckingValue username:
Posted 6/2/24 on r/Superstonk channel of Reddit by user DeepFuckingValue, aka Keith Gill
The image appears to show that Gill owns 5 million shares of GME, which were purchased at an average price of $21.274. At last Friday’s price, this would come to $115.7 million in value. Then he owns 120,000 call options worth about $65.7 million at last Friday’s price but much more at Monday’s market price.
If enough retail traders follow Gill into the trade, GME should be onto the second phase of the rally that climaxed back in May when shares rose to an intraday high of $64.83. The share price collapsed from there when GameStop management sold $933 million worth of new shares.
This second phase should last until June 21 at the least since that is when Gill’s options expire, all of which have a $20 strike price.
Gamestop FAQs
GameStop is a retailer of video games and gaming merchandise through its approximately 4,400 branded stores worldwide. More than 2,900 of these locations are in the United States. The company was founded in Dallas, Texas, in 1984 as Babbage’s but changed its name to GameStop in 1999. The company had revenue of $5.93 billion in 2022 but has been falling over the past decade as physical game purchases have been declining in favor of digital downloads directly from hardware providers like Sony’s Playstation, Microsoft’s XBox, Nintendo and the Steam platform. The company trades under the GME symbol on the New York Stock Exchange.
In January of 2021, retail stock traders that organized on Reddit’s r/WallStreetBets forum realized that GameStop’s short ratio exceeded its float through the use of naked shorts. This information circulated until a group of traders decided to buy up the small amount of shares that were available. This caused the price to jump 1,500% in a famous short squeeze that month when short-sellers were forced to repurchase shares to close their short positions at higher and higher prices. Traders like Keith Gill walked away with millions of dollars in profits, while hedge funds like Melvin Capital and White Square Capital would eventually shutter due to extreme losses on their short positions. Traders on the Reddit forum made memes to proselytize their bets on GameStop, which helped the long trade proliferate. Later many of these same traders would glom onto new “meme stocks” like AMC Entertainment and Bed, Bath & Beyond.
In its most recent quarter, Q1 2023, GameStop saw revenue decline 10% YoY to $1.237 billion, which is pretty much par for the course. Much of the reduction in sales is due to declining game and collectible revenue, while hardware and merchandise sales have actually been increasing. GameStop has been making the most of the situation by cutting back on labor costs (SG&A) to the tune of $100 million YoY. These cost-cutting measures led GameStop to cut its net loss YoY by two-thirds to about $50 million. With more than $1 billion in cash on its balance sheet, so its backers think it has enough runway to become profitable again. Out of 12 recent analyst marks, the vast majority gave GME stock a “Hold” rating, while four analysts gave it a “Buy” or “Strong Buy”.
Ryan Cohen, the founder and former CEO of Chewy.com, made a large investment in GameStop in December 2020, preceding the stock’s epic short squeeze. Cohen became one of the most high-profile investors in the meme stock and later became Executive Chairman of the company. His tenure has resulted in a number of high-profile changes to management. A number of executives left GameStop once Cohen arrived, and he is said to have used his perch to install new executives from Chewy and Amazon in key positions. Cohen owns approximately 12% of the company.
GameStop stock chart
GME 15-minute stock chart
Information on these pages contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Markets and instruments profiled on this page are for informational purposes only and should not in any way come across as a recommendation to buy or sell in these assets. You should do your own thorough research before making any investment decisions. FXStreet does not in any way guarantee that this information is free from mistakes, errors, or material misstatements. It also does not guarantee that this information is of a timely nature. Investing in Open Markets involves a great deal of risk, including the loss of all or a portion of your investment, as well as emotional distress. All risks, losses and costs associated with investing, including total loss of principal, are your responsibility. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of FXStreet nor its advertisers. The author will not be held responsible for information that is found at the end of links posted on this page.
If not otherwise explicitly mentioned in the body of the article, at the time of writing, the author has no position in any stock mentioned in this article and no business relationship with any company mentioned. The author has not received compensation for writing this article, other than from FXStreet.
FXStreet and the author do not provide personalized recommendations. The author makes no representations as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability of this information. FXStreet and the author will not be liable for any errors, omissions or any losses, injuries or damages arising from this information and its display or use. Errors and omissions excepted.
The author and FXStreet are not registered investment advisors and nothing in this article is intended to be investment advice.
Recommended content
Editors’ Picks
EUR/USD clings to daily recovery gains above 1.0700 after US data
EUR/USD stays in positive territory above 1.0700 in the second half of the day on Thursday. Following the mixed macroeconomic data releases from the US, the US Dollar (USD) struggles to gather strength and helps the pair hold its ground.
USD/JPY retreats below 106.50 on renewed USD weakness
USD/JPY extends its correction from multi-decade high it touched earlier in the day and trades below 160.50. Verbal intervention from Japanese officials seems to be helping the JPY shake off the selling pressure, while the mixed US data hurt the USD.
Gold back to its comfort zone around $2,330
Gold bounces off the psychologically important $2,300 level and trades above $2,320 on Thursday. The benchmark 10-year US Treasury bond yield stays in negative territory following latest US data, allowing XAU/USD to extend its rebound.
VanEck files for Solana ETF in the US
VanEck filed to list a Solana spot exchange-traded fund in the US after the approval in January of Bitcoin ETFs. The asset manager says it considers Solana "a commodity, like Bitcoin or Ether."
Indices fall back as inflation worries return
Higher inflation in Australia has not helped matters, and raises the uncomfortable prospect that major bugbear of the past two years is set to make an unwelcome return, leading to rate hikes once again.